The 2021 Event
The 2021 Moby-Dick Marathon
A celebration of all things Moby-Dick and Melville
2021 Dates: Friday, January 8 – Sunday, January 10
Special Features and Bonus Activities
Cousin Hosea’s Chowder Hall and the Decanter Taproom
Even though we weren’t together in person, attendees could enjoy a warm meal and tasty brews from the comfort of their own home.
Local restaurant Moby Dick Brewing Co. and delivery service Gotchew partnered with us to keep this tradition going. One could order food at any point during the weekend! Delivery service was limited to Dartmouth, New Bedford, Acushnet, Fairhaven. Marathon Specials included Brews, Chowder, and Fish & Chips.
Moby-Dick Marathon Trivia!
Are you a Moby-Dick wiz? Put your knowledge to the test with a trivia game created by Melville Scholars. CLICK HERE to play the Trivia Game.
Opening Night Dinner & Lecture
Friday, January 8
“A Wonder, a Grandeur, and a Woe”: Melville and Human Progress with Steven Olsen-Smith
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm (EST)
This year’s Moby-Dick Marathon kicked off with a lively virtual presentation by Steven Olsen-Smith, current Professor at Boise State University and General Editor of Melville’s Marginalia Online. The talk looked closely at Melville’s body of work to trace his conception of our prospects for edification and advancement. Steven explored how admirers of Herman Melville might ponder anew Melville’s conception of humanity’s capacity for individual, social, and evolutionary growth.
Steven Olsen-Smith is a past president of the Melville Society, and he has held visiting appointments as the Holland H. Coors Endowed Chair at the United States Air Force Academy. Olsen-Smith’s research explores the influence of Melville’s reading and sources on Moby-Dick and other writings.
Chat with the Melville Scholars
Saturday, January 9 at 2:30 pm (EST) via Zoom.
Attendees, enjoying exclusive access to Melville Scholars, could ask them anything and everything Melville.
Visualizing Melville: An exhibition of Words, Ideas, Images, and Objects
Sunday, January 10 at 10 am (EST) via Zoom.
Attendees joined Michael P. Dyer, the Museum’s Curator of Maritime History, as he paralleled the text of Moby-Dick and of other Melville books with artworks that brought the text into a more interpretive, more subjective, visual experience.